GA-Z77-D3H and Ubuntu 12.04 problems and solutions

Thu, 21 Jun 12 08:52:07 +0000

I was trying to install Kubuntu 12.04 x64 on my shiny new build and was coming across a few problems, so for others and posterity, I'll write them down here. Note that they're not really specific to Ubuntu; I also tried with Fedora 17 (Beefy Miracle, LOL) and even the G-Parted live CD and had similar failures. This may also apply to other z77 motherboards.

Problems:

Booting the live CD gets me to a black screen
HDD boot order isn't remembered on cold boots

Problem 1: The Kubuntu live CD got me to a strange black and white GRUB menu I've never seen before on a Kubuntu live CD, and trying to boot the kernel just got me to a black screen. Strangely, the num-lock/caps-lock keys still responded but it never progressed past the black screen. Gparted was exactly the same.

Solution: This seems to be something to do with UEFI. I'd love to explain what this is but the truth is I haven't a clue. Basically, it seems to me that the motheroard's boot options tend to be doubled so you have a normal option and a 'UEFI' option. The boot menu can be accessed by F12 on the BIOS startup, or DEL to get into the options. Try using the non-UEFI reference to your CD/DVD drive or your USB stick (my USB stick showed as 'CBM' or something). The Kubuntu boot option screen should be blue, not a black and white GRUB menu. I guess Ubuntu's will be orange.

Problem 2: The BIOS's HDD boot order (called 'Hard Drive BBS Priorities' under 'BIOS Features') does not save past cold boots (at least on the F14 BIOS). I don't know how it determines the boot disk but on mine, it always chose the wrong one. I have two disks (one for Windows, one for Linux) and have them both totally separate, so GRUB is on my Linux disk and the Windows disk's MBR is intact. The motherboard always wanted to boot from the Windows disk though. You can set the right priority and boot, but then you reboot and it's back to the Windows disk.

Solution: I found that setting SATA mode to AHCI (from a default of 'IDE') seems to allow it to save. AHCI should offer some performance/feature improvements anyway (not that you'll notice/use them), but be careful if you've got older hardware or need to use older low-level disk programs, as these might have compatbility issues (although with a z77 board I'm guessing your hardware is new...). Note that Windows 7 will BSOD when you do this because it doesn't install the AHCI driver if you haven't got AHCI enabled at install time - frst install Microsoft's fix and *then* enable AHCI.

If you can't/don't want to use AHCI, you *could* install GRUB to the MBR of your booting disk, but I prefer not doing this.

Anyway, Kubuntu 12.04 seems pretty awesome! Everything is so smooth - the Nouveau driver must have come on leaps and bounds. Not sure I want to install the Nvidia driver...

edit:
Spoke too soon: Something else to watch out for is if you use VirtualBox, it will reboot your host system if Intel Virtualization is not enabled in your BIOS (well, you could also disable it on the VM options, but best to take advantage of the hardware unless you've got a good reason not to).

Tribes Ascend - Some spinfusor/blue plate special tips.

Mon, 18 Jun 12 13:22:57 +0000

Update: I wrote this in June and since then the game/playerbase has degenerated a lot, and frankly, playing with a spinfusor is no longer particularly fun.

The reason for this is that the weapons are imbalanced with regard to their effectiveness in terms of a player's experience. Spinfusors are hard, unreliable and have a low average case effectiveness for a good player. Autos (and sniper rifles) are easier, reliable and have a very high average case effectiveness for a good player. As time goes on, the playerbase dwindles and the ratio of win-at-all-cost competitive players in the average pub game grows. Simply put, if you want to play Tribes, as opposed to (dare I say it) CoD with Jetpacks, you'll have more bad games than good. Don't get me wrong; I *love* Tribes, but most Ascend players are playing a totally different game (and I don't quite understand why - it's not a good game). Hi-Rez certainly won't fix these things, and it seems the most vocal voices in the community seem to start all their proposals with the false premise that everyone aspires to play competitively, so I don't ever see it changing.

On the plus side, PlanetSide 2's pretty good.

Tribes Ascend! I love it. I played Tribes 2 from its release and I have vague recollections of spending more time than I strictly should have in the Tribes 1 demo. I've probably been playing Tribes for 11-12 years or something crazy, so if I've killed you repeatedly with ridiculously improbable spinfusor shots, sorry.

Personally I'd love to see more players shunning the run-of-the-mill automatic weapons and instead using the spinfusor; remember in The Princess Bride when the Dread Pirate Roberts is duelling Inigo? A good disc duel is like that. It's a pleasure to lose to an artist, whereas it's a slightly less positive experience to lose to some idiot who pulls out a machine gun and starts spraying. So here are some tips which I hope will encourage you to forego the autos a bit.

General

if your game (FPS) is lagging, turn down your graphics settings. Having a responsive and smooth input/feedback is the most important thing. You barely even notice graphics when you're playing ... except those beautiful light effects on Raindance, I'll admit.
Mouse sensitivity: it's become vogue to have a very low sensitivity. This completely doesn't work for spinfusors (and seems like a bad idea if you don't want RSI).
Projectile weapons are subject to inheritance, i.e. the projectiles inherit your momentum. You probably know this already. This is just a 'feel' thing, there's not much I can say about it other than be aware of it.
Your class _does_ make a difference. I find it easier to stack up the MAs with soldier. It's probably down to a) the way people engage you and you them, and b) it being a sweet spot between being able to move fast enough to stay alive while being slow enough to not have to consider the inheritance too much (also note that for some reason lights have the same hitbox, as mediums, so being light doesn't make you harder to hit. TA has some very dubious design decisions). Pathfinder and Juggernaut, however, are the only true Tribes classes.

Aiming

Aiming is hard. Tribes is very much a 3D game and aiming in 3D with your mouse is hard. Try to reduce the number of variable axes between you and your target. If they're flying straight at you, you only need to aim in the vertical axis. You wouldn't believe how many flag carriers I've surprised with easy shots like this by placing myself between them and their flag stand and just hovering at their height.
There's a point in a player's arc where they're almost stationary in one dimension - right at the top. That's a good place to aim, especially if you're moving in the same direction as them.
Try to aim as much as possible WITHOUT the mouse - if you can adjust your movement (by keyboard and jetpack) to better coincide with their arc, then DO. It's a lot more reliable than frantically waving your reticle around.
I don't go for 'tracking' people with my mouse:
- If I need to adjust my aim before I shoot, I do it rapidly right before I shoot. This isn't a conscious thing but it seems to work quite well for me - your milage may vary (this is more for duels).
- Try to place your reticle in the right place ahead of time, then wait for them to fly into your aim (this is less for duels and more for taking down people not paying a lot of attention to you).
At close range, it can be really unintuitive where you should be aiming. I'm not sure if this is the hitbox, lag, unintuitive physics or what, but generally, your reticle shouldn't be over your target if you're both moving at any speed. Aim well ahead of where you think you should be.

Practice, practice, practice

I miss loads. You will too. You won't get those awesome mid airs unless you try. And you won't get better unless you're willing to fail.
Engaging heavy classes is good practice (avoid jugs with the X1 LMG though). They tend to move much more slowly and predictably and their hitbox is massive.
Obviously, in a disc duel, it often comes down to energy management and making sure you're still in the air to land a ground-shot on them when they hit the ground. But think twice before you finish them off like this - it's often worth letting them get a few metres back up again just for the practice - they'll often be in a bad position and you'll get an easy-ish shot, but one which is more challenging than just splash damaging them when they're on the ground.
A very good skill to learn is rapidly throwing your viewport around to where you *think* someone will end up when you're flying past them (or vice versa). Don't be scared to sacrifice some aim to get some more mobility.

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